Blake Lively is suing her “It Ends With Us” co-star and director over sexual harassment allegations and attempts to “tarnish” her reputation, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ on Saturday. is suing Justin Baldoni.
Lively claimed Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set of a movie and accused him of a “coordinated effort to tarnish her reputation,” TMZ reported. reported. The film is based on a romance novel by Colleen Hoover. backlash Since its debut in the summer, it has been dealing with domestic violence.
During filming, an “all-hands meeting” was held to address claims of a hostile work environment, and Lively’s husband Ryan Reynolds was also present, the newspaper reported.
The complaint reportedly lists demands addressed at the meeting, including that “Blake not be shown any more nude videos or images of women, and regarding Baldoni’s alleged past ‘porn addiction’. These include “no further mention of sexual conquests, no discussion of sexual conquests in front of Blake.” Other than that, there is no further mention of the cast or crew’s genitals, no further questions about Blake’s weight, and no further mention of Blake’s dead father. ”
Another request included “no further sex scenes, oral sex, or on-camera climaxes by BL outside of the script approved by BL when signing the project.” .
JERSEY CITY, NJ – JANUARY 12: Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively on the set of It Ends with Us on January 12, 2024 in Jersey City, New Jersey. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer Griffin/GC Images)
This request was “accepted” by the studio, the lawsuit claimed. According to a report from TMZ, Baldoni is further accused of engaging in a “social manipulation” campaign aimed at “destroying” Lively’s reputation. (Related: Justin Baldoni hires crisis PR amid hellish rumors of feud with Blake Lively).
Blake Lively accuses ‘Seraph of the End’ co-star Justin Baldoni of sexual harassment and campaign to ‘tarnish’ reputation https://t.co/Dheyxam7mO pic.twitter.com/oyk7ieFL8I
— New York Post (@nypost) December 21, 2024
“It is disgraceful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorical false accusations against Ms. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and their representatives, and it is shameful that Ms. Lively and her representatives would make such serious and categorical false accusations against Ms. Baldoni, Wayfarer Studios and their representatives, This is yet another desperate attempt to “fix” the negative publicity she received from her comments. conduct during the campaign for this film,” said Baldoni’s attorney Brian Friedman. said said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “These claims are completely false, outrageous, and intentionally despicable aimed at publicly tarnishing and rehashing media coverage.”
Friedman said Lively made multiple threats during the film’s production, including “threatening not to show it.” [sic] She threatened to stop promoting the film if her demands were not met, which ultimately led to the film being canceled during its release. ”
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the lawsuit stems from rumors that spread on TikTok after Baldoni was absent from a press event and there was no group photo at the film’s New York premiere, and was not due to an issue between the co-stars. The incident occurred in response to speculation that this was the case.
